Struggling to Make Things Right
by The Sapphire Pen
Summary: They have to break up. Because couples like them can't usually make it. But, do they have to? [Mallison]


**So this is my first Thundermans fanfic. I hope you ship Mallison, or you're not going to like this. It's probably going to be a bunch of oneshots. I don't know. Not going to be in chronological order, or be the same. It may not even be more than one oneshot. This is totally inspired by "The Notebook" and Modern Family.**

 **Disclaimer: I wish I owned The Thundermans. Sadly, I don't. I don't own anything, really. I'm not eighteen yet, so my parents own most of what I have.**

Graduation. It was beautiful. Really, it was. Phoebe and Max didn't even use their powers. Because why would they? It's not like something unique happens every day that requires super powers. Although, using them _is_ pretty cool.

The thing was, though, that most people would be going to college. So it was kind of sad, to look at all these people you've known for at least the last four years, and realize that you may never see them again. All promises of keeping in touch would fly out the window.

College was something that most of them had been thinking about for a long time. The seniors, they tried to deny the truth. However, it was all going to happen. After this summer, friends and enemies alike would be traveling to different places in the world. Some might keep in touch. Reunions would take place. But this youth, so well preserved by parties and tests, would never be the same. A chapter in their life was ending. All they'd ever known, really, would be gone.

Max and Phoebe weren't going to college. It wasn't like they needed to. Being a super hero and a super villain, college was totally unnecessary. Barb and Hank didn't demand, or try to persuade them to go. In fact, they'd hoped that the twins _wouldn't_ want to go. And they were definitely still hoping that Max would get through his phase. He was eighteen already! Shouldn't he have grown and matured?

In some ways, he has. He had a steady girlfriend. Kind of his first real long term girlfriend. He'd been her boyfriend for a while. In his own way, he really had stepped up to the relationship, and had been serious about it.

For the rest of the summer, the seniors hung out with their friends and tried to make memories that they would remember forever, within two months. It was the desperation, the need to end their acquaintances solidly, that brought people and that Phoebe and Max hardly interacted with to their house, as well as friends.

Phoebe surely was happy, and wasn't all that upset about all of this end-of-things thing. Her boyfriend, Link, was a super hero. He wasn't going to go to college, and he was no longer in Hong Kong. They were happy. Of course, Cherry going away was certainly upsetting. But Cherry wasn't going far, and the best friends would keep in touch. How could they not, really?

Max wasn't so happy. His girlfriend wasn't a supe. She had goals. She wanted to achieve something in life that required at least some further education. Her mother wanted her to go, too, and Max knew it was good for Allison to go. She wanted it. He wanted her to have what she wanted.

Her going away, however, never really struck him as real. Not until she came to say goodbye on the very day she would board her plane and travel across the country. Without him. He would miss her like crazy.

Despite all of this, he never thought she would do what she did.

Allison rode her recycled bike up to the Thundermans' house. She sighed. It was the end. Of knowing Max. And of being his girlfriend.

Max opened the door for her, smiling as usual. Except this time she didn't smile back. She even rejected the hug he offered. This wasn't good.

"What's wrong?" asked Max, already starting to realize what was going to happen. She was going to leave, that day.

"Um...I'm leaving for college today. My plane's leaving in, like, three hours," Allison answered softly.

"I'm going to miss you. It's going to be hard for our relationship, huh?"

"That's the thing. Long distance relationships don't usually work out. The more efforts we put in, the more we'll be disappointed. You'll get this entirely wrong thought of who I am, and I'll imagine you as you aren't. We won't know each other anymore. It won't work. It'll be painful."

Max was starting to worry and get nervous. Was Allison trying to break up with him? He knew she wanted him to catch on, and if he weren't so nervous, breaking into a sweat, he might have caught on, and made it easier for her. But he didn't. He _couldn't_. Say goodbye to her? He...he wouldn't do it.

"Look," she tried again, looking at him, begging him to understand, "when we see each other again, we both will have changed. And we'll get disappointed by who we've turned out to be. Without me, you may go back to pranking. Before you know it, you'll have committed a great crime and will be in jail. You _are_ a super villain, after all, and not always full of great, fool-proof plans. We'll have changed, and therefore we won't like each other. We may think we do, but we won't. And then, we'll be so in love with our make believe perfect images of each other, that when we _do_ break up, because we realize we've been fooling ourselves for so long, we'll just be hurt even worse. I think...I think we should break up."

"You...want to break up?" Max swallowed. He had seen it coming. He had, but it didn't register until now. It's kind of like when somebody has a crush on another person. They know the person doesn't like them back, but it's only when the fact is _confirmed_ do they feel the real sting.

Max didn't want to break up. He didn't see why they should. He was a super villain. He could make it work. Sure, distance would affect them. But he was willing to try. Was she not?

"Yeah. It's better...for you and me. If I go, we have to. I mean, we can't just live through long distance. It won't work."

"So if you go, you have to leave me, too?"

Allison looked down. This was harder than she'd imagined. And she'd tried to imagine the worst case scenario in her head.

"Yeah."

"Well then why do you have to go? Don't you want to still be with me?"

"Of course I do, Max, but it's not that easy."

"Why isn't it? I'm not going to college. You don't need to."

"We both know this relationship wasn't anything more than a highschool sweetheart kind of thing!"

Ouch. Okay, so _that hurt_. Max had really thought it was serious. He loved her. She didn't know it yet, sure, but he did. He didn't know what he'd thought of the relationship, he just knew he thought it was more. Clearly he thought it was more than what she thought. To her, in her life, if a chapter ended, everything ended. He didn't like that.

"That's what you think this is?"

Allison realized at that moment that Max had thought they were something more. And she couldn't believe it. A villain? Capable of hoping for something more? She had originally thought he cared too little for the relationship to be more than just a high school thing. At that time, they hadn't been dating for long, so she managed to pull herself back, and not fall in love with him.

"Isn't that what you think it is?"

She gulped. She'd been wrong. This wasn't good.

"No...I thought...no...I _think_ that it's serious. I want this, don't you?"

It was like a debate crossfire. Questions answered, questions asked.

"Well of course I do, but-"

"-Then why do you have to go?" he interrupted. "If you stay, we can be happy together."

"But I can't stay!"

"Why not?"

"Because I want to go to college!"

"And you don't want me then!"

"That's not fair!"

"You were _willing_ to give up me for college." It was the cold truth. It stung, but then, the truth usually does. Max was really upset. He wanted to cry, but villains didn't cry. Especially not for something as petty as a romance. Love was just love. Right?

"College defines my future, Max! You're not my future, I'm not yours! I _need_ college. I _want_ college."

"What do you want more? Your family and friends and _boyfriend_ , or a stupid education that you may not even use?"

"That's not fair, Max!"

"Damn it Allison! What do you _want_? If you go out that door, you'll have chosen college. It's not about what everyone else wants for you. It's what _you_ want!"

"You're a selfish idiot!"

"And you're a stubborn and ignorant girl! But that doesn't matter! Because that's _us_ , that's what we are. You matter to me, I hope I matter to you! Does college really matter that much to you?"

"Yes! Max! Come on!"

"What do you mean 'come on'?" He was furious.

"Why are you making this so hard?"

"Because I don't want to frigging lose you!"

She looked sadly at him, but started walking to the door.

"That's your choice, huh? College..." He tried to stop her, by using his telekinesis to move a chair in front of the door.

"After the way you acted, I can't expect to see a future between us anyway. I'm sorry." She looked at him, and at the chair.

He knew this was what she wanted. He had to let her go. So he moved the chair, and she left. But he couldn't let this be it. He loved her. He needed to be with her. But he sure screwed it up.

If this were a cheesy fanfiction, written by an author who used to have 'cliche' in their pen name, Max would go after Allison to the airport and either go with her, or beg her some more, making her relent and stay. But alas, even though this _is_ a that kind of fanfiction, that isn't going to happen.

Finally, Max had an idea. He ran outside quickly, and catches her right as she's getting on her bike to leave.

"Allison, I know you have to go. You want to go, you want a future. You want a husband who can make you happy and stress free and kids. You...I guess you can't give that up for me. It's just...it wouldn't make _sense_. By going to college, you're guaranteed at least a job. By staying, you aren't sure of anything. I want you to be happy."

She had an almost comically suspicious face. "Where are you going with this?"

"Do I have any right to hope...that maybe...you might also, like, still want to be with me...in a way that's like, more than a high school sweetheart, more than just another...guy? I lo...I really like you. A lot. And this relationship seemed different, like something unique."

Her face softened a little. "Of course I still want to be with you. I don't want to only remember you as the guy I dated for a while at high school that meant nothing to me."

"But you still want to go."

"Yes."

"And you still want to break up?"

"We have to, Max. Long distance relationships don't _usually_ work out."

"That's the thing! They don't _usually_ work, but see, a super villain doesn't _usually_ ask a girl trying to save the world to be his girlfriend. Said girl doesn't _usually_ say yes. A super villain doesn't _usually_ want to give up pranks for the girl. The relationship doesn't _usually_ last this long. And the way they got together isn't _usually_ because she attended a family game night where a talking bunny was present. Teens don't _usually_ get so pissed when told they're going through a 'phase.' But that's us. We're not _usually_ part of the _usually_. The before mentioned girl and this villain don't _usually_ last through long distance relationships, sure, but defying the odds and not being a part of _usually_ is kind of our thing. I'm willing to try the long distance relationship, and see how many more _usually_ s we break, seeing as we've already made it this far, if you are?"

Allison smiled. "Okay."

"Another thing. Super villains don't _usually_ fall in love with a girl who not only doesn't have powers, but also has practically the opposite goals that he has. Then again, super villains don't _usually_ fall in love at all."

Max just told her he loved her. He wondered what she might say. Did she love him back? He was kind of nervous. She raised an eyebrow. Then she hugged him tightly, ignoring has last words, she murmured, "I'm going to miss you so much."

Then she walked away. She got on her bike, and Max stared after her.

As if she knew he was still watching as she biked along, even though she never looked back, she said,

"I love you, too."

 **because i'm still full of clichés. sucker for happy endings. seriously. it's so like the notebook though...*sighs*. but let's be real, they were couple goals.**

 **please review and let me know what you think. also, if you're one of my a &a or ki readers, expect some relatively sad fanfics soon.**

 **thanks for reading!**


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